Opinion
Your death brings endless joy…
To you.
Yes, you…
the one…
that violated
trust…
respect…
consent.
To you…
the rapist.
Know that each and every day,
the knowledge of your death,
brings me endless joy.
Life is a game.
Life is a game.
How you play is a matter of perspective.
Some play to win or lose.
I play to win or learn.
The War of Art, or the amateur psychology and religious babbling of Steven Pressfield
Listening to Steven Pressfield personify “resistance” and then go on and on about his phobias regarding creativity is exhausting. I almost feel like sending him a bill for a psychiatry session. When he goes into religious babbling, well, I lost interest. Writing, creativity and storytelling isn’t an ongoing battle with some invisible monster named resistance. Creativity isn’t something whispered by angels into the ears of a transcriber. If you want to write, or create art of any type, you simply do it. If you persevere, you will create art. If you continue, and you improve along the way, you may create great and enduring art. Yes, you may have personal challenges, phobias and self-doubts to work through. But hearing Pressfield go on about his personal issues will be of dubious help. Skip this book and spend time creating something great on your own. Your time will be better spent.
Their and back again.
I’m sittting in the Charles de Gaulle airport, leaving France. It almost feels like I haven’t been here.
I don’t feel at home in France. It feels like I am in “their” country (hence the title of this article). A month and a half ago, I spent two travel-packed weeks in China. April was Italy, where I spent the vast majority of my days waking up, traveling to a new city, lecturing, eating, then sleeping each day. Then repeating that over and over and over. Before that, China, much the same (work, work, work)
It might be that my time in Paris was needed to recover. My six days were spent relaxing. One afternoon I went out and visited my friend Yves, and his friend Alafrez. I almost missed that meeting because I slept in.
I planned to go see the Eiffel Tower on Sunday, but rain discouraged me. I saw it, the Mona Lisa, the Arc de Triomphe (and much more) about three decades ago. It felt nicer to stay in the AirBnB in north Paris, rather than venture out into old territory. I did make a daily visit to the McDonalds across the street. Sometimes, familiar food is what a Hobbit needs.
Well, let’s see how things progress. Amsterdam is completely new to me. If I stay inside the whole week, then I will have to evaluate if this trip was the wisest choice I have made in recent years.
Write Right Rite
Here is a method for writing right, made into a rite.
Schedule a time to write every day.
Make the time short, so that it is easy to commit to. For me, fifteen minutes is good.
Then, at that time, sit down and write.
If you don’t know what to write, think about what you want to write.
If you know what you want to write, think about what you want to say.
If the words don’t come, simply sit and stare at the blank page. For every one of those scheduled minutes.
When the words come, write them. Don’t edit. Don’t correct. Just pour them onto the page.
You can always go back and edit them before you hit the publish button. And in today’s digital age, you can even fix errors post-publication.
The idea is to get comfortable with writing at a regular time.
Get comfortable with creating.
Get comfortable with that glaringly white page.
Make the practice into a rite to help you write right.
Bringing the dead back to life
Way back in the day, I created my first CMS (Content Management System) type of website. This was in the mid-nineties, so it was before CMS types of websites were even an idea.
It was driven by a forum, which fed posts onto the front page. I used the forum as a personal blog, making posts into sub-forums as a way to categorize content.
In the early 2000’s, I moved to WordPress. The old site languished, but I kept it running. I wasn’t sure why at the time, but it felt like the right thing to do.
Recently, the site’s server upgraded PHP and MySQL, which finally broke the site. Nothing but errors if you tried to visit it. So I faced a undesirable decision: troubleshoot an antique, or completely retire it.
I let it sit. After all, no one complained. No one missed it. Why invest time into it?
Well, last night, I invested time into it. And I couldn’t be happier. It is like reconnecting with an old friend. Or more precisely, finding an old diary and dusting it off.
It isn’t perfect. The front page no longer pulls content from the forum. I had to correct a few graphical issues. And I had to remove and/or clean up a lot of code to get the forum back up. But it is back. And it is a hell of a lot of fun to look at content that I created way back when.
There probably are a few issues here and there. And I don’t know if I will ever add new content to the site. But just knowing that it is alive again is oh so satisfying.
And I still get a kick out of the pair of “eyes” that follows your cursor around on the main page. It is fun to see them chase and watch your actions. Big Brother is watching you!
If you want to take a look at it, the main page is here. And the forum is here. Just keep in mind that it has been years since new content was added. If nothing else, it inspired me to write this post, so the creative spark is alive and well.
Enjoy!
[caption id=“attachment_906” align=“aligncenter” width=“381”]
Lecter.org CMS[/caption]
Trumped
So I was playing cards with some friends, one of whom is new to cards.
They asked about trumps.
One friend responded, “Trump always wins.”
I immediately added, “Unless he is running for president.”
Desk.pm
Desk 1.4.1 has fixed the paragraph issue that I experienced through various versions. In short, I am happy with it again!
Tired of taxes?
Feeling taxed? Why not start a religion? They are tax-exempt after all.
Wait—I get the feeling that you think I am being facetious. I’m not.
For example, imagine a science fiction writer, unhappy with being paid poorly, and then taxed on top of that. He starts a religion, mixes in a smattering of psychiatry and then, for good measure, obscures facts with a bit of scientific façade. Throw in an alien overlord and bits and pieces from the pages of yesteryear’s pulpy science fiction. Extort the IRS into turning a blind eye—and voilà—a “religion” is born!
Ok. You got me. Clearly, I’m making all of this up. Forget that I brought this up, and go about paying your taxes. Sometimes, my imagination runs wild.
"Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion."
Warlords of Draenor Cinematic
Another beautiful cinematic from the fine folks at Blizzard:
[youtube=[www.youtube.com/watch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLzhlsEFcVQ&w=640&h=360])
We need a neutral net
I believe that we need a neutral net—one that is free of bias, blockades and barriers.
Without true neutrality, coercion can influence the path to our goals.
I’ll use the analogy of a library to illustrate my general concerns. The internet is like an infinite library, with shelves for every imaginable topic, so I believe that this analogy bears some merit.
Imagine a library. You decide to explore religion. You go to the religion section, and all major religions are represented, along with many minor ones. There are multiple books on each one, all in good condition, within easy reach. This is a representation of a neutral internet.
Now imagine a different type of library. There are carts blocking the religion aisle. But, on the end of the row, there are new copies of the Gideon bible. They are new because fresh copies are frequently donated to the library. The Gideon organization even pays for special shelving and a colorful sign. If you push the cart aside, you can see other copies of Christian bibles within easy reach, and they are in reasonable condition. The librarian is partial to Christianity, so they place their preference in a prominent location, and they order replacements on a regular schedule. Other religious books are located on higher shelves, requiring a ladder to reach. They are few in number, and they are in poor condition. A note is posted, stating that other books are available, but they take weeks to be delivered, and there is a charge to read them. This is a representation of a net without neutrality.
Which library would you prefer?
If you want to keep our net neutral, contact your congressional representatives and let them know.
Ignorance & Indifference
What’s the difference between ignorance and indifference?
I don’t know and I don’t care.
You, yes, you…
…do you value your privacy?
I do.
Quite frankly, there are things that I love that I don’t want anyone to know about. I don’t want you to know how I dance to Katy Perry’s music. Or how I cry when I sing along to “The One That Got Away” with her. Or how she lights up my heart with “Firework.”
It’s none of your business.
But the NSA wants to know. They want to know everything. This isn’t right. I don’t want to be spied on. I want to be free. Free to express myself. Free to express my art. Free to live my life.
From first hand experience, I know how painful it is to have others observe you with a judgmental eye. And if your actions, style, voice and art are a bit too different from their personal preferences, ridicule follows. And it hurts. It is a hurt that kills creativity. A hurt that wounds an artistic soul.
On February 11th, there is a movement. A movement to let our voices be heard. Let congress know that the NSA has went to far. If you care about freedom, add your voice. If enough of us speak from our hearts, they can’t ignore us.
Visit TheDayWeFightBack.org for more information on how to take action.